Alison Fairman is the resounding choice for this year’s LHF Achievement Awar
d, for being a dedicated champion of Lincolnshire’s and Boston’s cultural heritage for over forty years. She first became involved in the late 1970s, when she and her husband Martin moved to Boston. To their dismay, they discovered that a neighbour had submitted a planning application which involved their back garden, and in typically determined style, Alison boned up on planning policy and legislation, which was her entrée into heritage – and into the Boston Preservation Trust’s civic group. She has been a part of that group ever since.
About that time, Alison also became involved in the History of Boston Project – a committed group of local historians producing a series of pamphlets on different aspects of the town’s history. A large number of these have been published over the years, and their work continues. Another of Alison’s longstanding commitments has been to the Friends of St Botolph – she has long been chair, leading initiatives to raise and disburse charitable funds for the benefit of the church and its surrounds. The Friends have raised tens of thousands of pounds for repairs and improvements that probably otherwise could not have been carried out.
Among other organisations that Alison leads, or has led, are the Boston Heritage Trust and the Boston Heritage Forum Group – the most successful and stable of the regional clusters of this Forum, and probably comes close to challenging the parent body in size and influence!
Alison was a founding member in 2014 of the Boston Hansa Group, to recall and celebrate a most important international trading network in Boston’s medieval history, and to link the town more closely to other towns and cities in the North Sea/Baltic region in a modern recreation of the Hanseatic League. Nowadays, there are some 180 towns and cities in 16 countries in the Hansa Group, promoting cultural activities, historical festivals, markets, exhibitions, and a host of other events. Membership of the Hansa Group has been a chance for Boston, in Alison’s words, ‘to bring old and new residents together, and to take youth ambassadors to Hanseatic towns all over Europe to meet other young Europeans.’ Each town organises an annual Hansa Day; Boston’s has grown year on year and last year, the Arts organisation Transported injected a substantial grant into festivities, which it is repeating this year – so visit Boston on the 30 May! Husband Martin, it’s worth noting, has been a key player in this, as in so many other heritage initiatives.
Despite some poorly-considered urban development in the past, Boston has retained much of its historic appeal, including some magnificent ancient buildings. But until quite recently, the town has not had the resources to achieve the full potential of this built heritage environment. Alison has been heavily involved in the Boston Townscape Heritage Initiative, a NLHF project to support shop owners and local businesses by funding shopfront repair and reinstatement. Eight properties in Market Place, Pump Square and Dolphin Lane have been restored and uplifted through repairs tailored to each shopfront’s needs, to reflect historic Boston.
Given the theme of our conference this year, ‘Bringing Nature and Culture Together’, it is also highly appropriate to celebrate Alison’s work for Boston in Bloom. She became involved initially through her interest in gardens. Today, Boston in Bloom can count among its achievements making the town more welcoming (for example at the station) and beautiful, as well as cleaner and greener, and bringing so many volunteers together to build a sense of pride in Boston: people can make a difference. Electric Egg has made a lovely video about Boston in Bloom’s work, it’s worth a watch!
Alison has also been involved in protecting specific landmarks. In the 1980s, she was involved in the campaign to save Maud Foster windmill from the threat of demolition; it was indeed saved, and the Waterfield family, who bought it in 1987, put it back into working order; it re-opened in 1988. The mill celebrated its 200th birthday in 2019. More recently, she has been part of a campaign to relocate the Five Lamps, a Grade II-listed large lighting feature that was a prominent landmark on Boston’s Market Place. In an earlier redevelopment it was removed to Liquorpond Street, rather hidden away. Planning permission has very recently been given for it to be relocated to the new Rosegarth Square redevelopment.
Alison’s commitment has not been limited to Boston. In 2003, she was invited to become a member of the Lincoln Cathedral Fabric Fund, and has helped to organise fundraising events for the programme of conservation and repair needed to sustain the Cathedral building into the future.
Alison, on behalf of all your friends and associates in the Lincolnshire Heritage Forum, thank you for your efforts over so many decades.
Heather Hughes (chair)
On behalf of the LHF Committee